Image is from @Parsani@hexbear.net, who got it from @RNAi@hexbear.net, who got it from Discord.
Thread update: Prigozhin's fucking dead.
The BRICS summit will begin on Tuesday and end on Thursday, with various world leaders, politicians, and representatives meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa.
America's anxiety about the summit has been obvious. They have been complicating the event by pushing for the arrest warrant for Putin to be upheld if he steps foot in the country. While this is a remarkably dangerous and unhinged thing to do - even by America's standards - to the leader of a nuclear superpower who could end the world within an hour, it does betray their desperation. Unfortunately, for those of us who wanted to see Putin surrounded by an army of security guards fending off people holding handcuffs, he has sent his Foreign Minister, Lavrov, in his place. Additionally, America has likely been spreading rumors about the lack of interest in gaining new members in the organization.
With apparently 20 countries formally seeking membership and another 20 informally doing so, the bloc has been elevated, whether they like it or not, to the position of the international vanguard of the non-western world. It is extremely important to say that this is not the same as it becoming an anti-American bloc, and many of them (including original members Brazil and India) wish to keep a friendly relationship with the United States. Nonetheless, with the United States' policy of "if you are not with us, you are against us," and as the US seeks to weaken China, in coming years many of them might find themselves under hostile pressure.
BRICS has to try and solve many problems if they are going to chip away at America's stranglehold of the world economy. These problems - like mitigating the dollar's status as a global reserve currency, and America's dominant role in the world economy - are extremely complicated, and will takes years, even decades, to be overcome. Therefore, one should temper their expectations and excitement for this summit. It took tens of millions of deaths in cataclysmic wars, and then several more decades, for America to reach its current position. I see no reason to believe why its downfall will be any less bloody and elongated.
To end on a less depressing note, I've been searching for appropriate anagrams given the list of countries that seek to join BRICS. Obviously not all of them will make it in, but even so. The best I've come up with is HIBISCUS EMANCIPATES BBBBKKRVV.
(also, "bulletins and news discussion" can be rearranged to "libidinous newsstands uncles".)
Here is the map of the Ukraine conflict, courtesy of Wikipedia.
This week's first update is here in the comments.
This week's second update is here in the comments.
Links and Stuff
The bulletins site is down.
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Add to the above list if you can.
Resources For Understanding The War
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it's just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists' side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Telegram Channels
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
Pro-Russian
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
Last week's discussion post.
I've noticed that in the past couple of years, especially since the whole Ukraine thing, that there is a skyrocketing amount of concern trolling from the U.S. government and Russian guasanos that Russia is becoming a Chinese colony. I've seen multiple YT videos from CIA funded channels like Infographics about how "China is Russia's real enemy".
This is extraordinarily ironic because America literally directs the foreign policy of its EU vassal states. Like they can't even do business with other countries if America does not consent.
Because a greater cooperation between China and Russia will make both countries nearly self sufficient
I would be fascinated to know if these takes have any significant spread inside Russia and China themselves, because their populaces seem to be the ones you would want to hit with this propaganda to try and weaken their relationship which is a direct threat to the United States (or, more accurately, the United States is making a direct threat to themselves by not getting out of Ukraine nor Taiwan)
if it's just for westerners then it just seems like they're setting up the next liberal thought-terminating cliche. creating the "if: mention China and Russia, then: say Russia is China's resource colony and China is an imperialist" thought pathway
deleted by creator
Quora is a uniquely cursed website even by the standard of the average western forum so this isn't surprising at all
The Ultranationalist Chinese still crying about that small sandlot in Heilongjiang that was giving to Russia at the end of the Cold War is probably the most pathetic thing I have ever heard. Why would you want to hold on to that part of North East part of China when you are going to deindustrialize during the Reform and Opening up and that in the future you'll know that Russia is going to sell you resources in that small area (if there are any)
This is especially funny when this issue is bought out by Pro-western Chinese who use this issue to ''point out'' the hypocrisy of not letting Xinjiang, Tibet or Hong Kong to have sovereignty
Some Russian Neo-nazi (who are overwhelmingly pro-western) believe in the whole china-siberia thing. Idk about china tho.
basically just trying to do another sino soviet thing but also a little bit of asiatic hordes racism
Given current conditions, a other sino-soviet style split is more or less impossible based on my understanding. The two nations have everything to gain from working together, don't interfere or even really comment on the other's internal affairs at all, and each fully understand why they need to stand united against the Angloids.
Anglos love fantasizing about it though
They are still trying to manifest the whole “Cynah will colonize siberia1!1!1! Yellow peril” thing and its not working, since they can’t stop being racist against russians lol.